STAR TURN: Anika Allan is only eight but she is already beating the odds of juvenile polyarthritis. Picture: Richard Walker Source: Quest Newspapers
STAR TURN: Anika Allan and her mother Natalie have a special bond, both fighting the stigma of juvenile polyarthritis. Picture: Richard Walker Source: Quest Newspapers
WHEN Anika Allan had a sports carnival at her school, her mother Natalie was wary.
The bayside eight-year-old has battled juvenile polyarthritis since the age of two, causing her such pain that she has had trouble sleeping and walking since she was a toddler and undergone a battery of medical procedures.
"It used be called Stills disease because they couldn't move basically," Mrs Allan said.
"Before one sports carnival I even prepped up one of the teachers and said, 'Can she have a special job of holding the tape at the end or something?' Instead Anika competed and won.
"I couldn't believe it," she said.
"She won the cross country at school and the 200m and 100m sprints.
"We told the rheumatologist this and he just shakes his head."
Anika's family first noticed the condition when as a child she struggled to open her mouth wide enough to be fed and would turn her whole body to look left or right and didn't want to bear any weight on her legs.
Today, thanks to a new treatment regimen and the ongoing support from Arthritis Queensland she is Brisbane Adventist College's athletics aged champion.
"She's so determined. For her to have this condition she's done so well and I'm so proud of her because of what she's been through since a very young age."
"Before that, she couldn't turn over in bed at night because of the pain.
"I would have to get up in the night to roll her over, she was just in that much pain.
"I used to put her in the bath for a couple of hours each morning when she was little. It was hard to assess how uncomfortable she was because she wasn't talking that well and couldn't understand what was going on.
Natalie credits Arthritis Queensland for their help through it all and was excited about the group's recently released Action Plan and awareness campaign.
To find out more visit arthritis.org.au
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